title: Identification of the source of ivory idol by DNA analysis.
abstract: In this study, we describe a forensic case dealing with the identification of the source of the processed ivory object by DNA analysis. Two pieces of Lord Krishna's idols from a shop were confiscated by an investigating agency of the Indian government and forwarded to us to identify the source of its origin. We succeeded in isolating DNA from both processed ivory idols by using the phenol/chloroform DNA extraction method. The extracted DNA was subjected to PCR amplification using an elephant-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop marker. DNA sequence analysis of the amplified fragment of mtDNA D-loop region confirmed that the idols were consistent with Asian elephant with 99% similarity.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. skg@wii.gov.in
authors.forename: Sandeep Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Kumarasamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thangaraj
authors.forename: Lalji
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Singh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003415:Crime; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D003804:Dentin; D004606:Elephants / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004247:DNA